Kelly Eden—Beyond the Dollhouse

Model Mayhem to the YouTube Homepage

Photos by: Hugo V

Words by: Devon Preston

With almost 10 years in the entertainment industry, Kelly Eden knows better than anyone how to maintain a lasting career as an influencer. She began as a model and quickly soared on to the industries’ radar, landing features in almost every major tattoo magazine in print and gaining campaign deals for international companies. And while Eden could have continued to ride the wave of her modeling success, she chose to expand her brand to YouTube and has since developed an exciting, new following. On YouTube, she’s had the opportunity to show the world her true colors, which aren’t always girly pastels, and create a brand that is both multidimensional and sustainable. We caught up with Eden to learn how she went from Model Mayhem to the YouTube homepage.

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How did you begin your career as a model?

This is a career that just kind of like fell into my lap, because I started doing it for fun. This was back when I was in college, my friends would take pretty pictures together and do mini photo shoots. Then from there, I got on modelmayhem.com —it’s a space for photographers, models, makeup artists and anybody who’s in the industry. I was able to network with all the local photographers and I was doing it just for fun. I thought it would be cool to take pictures to show my kids someday. I ended up becoming a well known name in Denver and then eventually in America.